· The No. 38 (and the story of Jim Johnson in a broom closet)
· Early season reviews for Tampa Bay and Syracuse
· 3 things that could keep the Lightning from the President’s Trophy
· Interviews with Luke Witkowski and Slater Koekkoek
· The BP Mailbag (Future of Poulin … Rating Drouin in fire Emojis … Drouin is Kucheroving – or is it Afanasenkoving? … Nikita Gusev vs Johnny Gaudreau … Better shooting percentage, Condra or Brown? … Does Stamkos sign? … TB’s most valuable puzzle piece … Sustr’s scratch the first letter of the writing on the wall? … The prospect I’d build a team around.)

After being two of the final cuts from the Tampa Bay Lightning’s training camp, Slater Koekkoek and Luke Witkowski are back together on the Crunch blueline.

The two defensemen, paired together for the Syracuse season opener in Lehigh Valley Saturday, have quickly renewed the chemistry that made them one of the team’s top defensive duos last season. Both are working at rounding out their games as they prepare to take the next, permanent step to the National Hockey League.

“They both had real good camps and Tampa was happy with both of them,” said Crunch head coach Rob Zettler. “There’s players up there that have established positions, and they have to understand that. But the other part is that they still need to work on some of the things in their game that they can get better at. They’re both very good hockey players and able to play in the NHL, but both can improve and keep getting better.”

While every team in the American Hockey League chases the Calder Cup, the Tampa Bay Lighting’s AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, are looking to rekindle the magic that took them to the league championship series in 2013. Less than three years have passed, but the memories of 2013 seem to be shrinking in the rear view mirror.

The Crunch will take their first step toward that goal when they open the 2015-16 on the road against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms Saturday.

“It’s gone by fast, without a doubt,” said Crunch head coach Rob Zettler. “The people have changed except for a couple, but it does feel like a while away. I feel like we’ve learned a lot over these last two years, and we’re continuing to grow. The goal, as always, is to make the playoffs and win the Calder Cup.”

We continue our Bolt Prospect of the Week award this season, an honor (virtually) given to one Tampa Bay Lightning prospect for his recent contributions on and off the ice.

The first Bolt Prospect of the Week for the 2015-2016 season, for the week ending September 28, is … Matthew Peca, C, Tampa Bay Lightning/Syracuse Crunch.

The last Lightning prospect to wear No. 63 as a camp number turned out to be pretty good at the hockey, and the latest prospect to wear it is off to an impressive start.

Tyler Johnson wore 63 before switching to his customary No. 9, then was a Calder Trophy finalist for the NHL rookie of the year. A year later he was a playoff hero, helping the Lightning to a Stanley Cup Finals berth before breaking his wrist and playing the final series significantly limited.

Matt Peca was playing center for Quinnipiac University when Johnson was proving NHL doubters wrong two years ago. Two weeks ago he was lighting it up for the Lightning in their prospect tournament and took that momentum into the Lightning’s main camp and preseason games.

Tomorrow is the end of the 2015 Tampa Bay Lightning Prospect Tournament in Estero, Florida, and the Lightning (1-1) have a chance to claim its championship if Nashville beats Washington earlier in the day and the Bolts defeat Florida. There is no championship game or oversized trophy awarded to the winners to skate around Germain Arena and collect their pent-up tears of joy, however.